Security Council

Despite serious challenges ahead of presidential and provincial elections planned for 2014, Afghanistan had significantly advanced its political and security transitions that aimed to secure the country’s return to normalcy following decades of entrenched conflict, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative told the Security Council this morning, ahead of an open debate.

Commending the people and Government of Liberia on their enduring commitment to peace and initiation of reforms, the Security Council today extended the mandate of the United Nations Mission in the country for one year, until 30 September 2014, while authorizing implementation of the second phase of reduction of the Mission’s military component by 1,129 personnel by that date.

Sierra Leone’s development plan for 2013-2018 was facing a funding gap of more than $2 billion, but the United Nations exit strategy remained on course to meet the March 2014 deadline, the Security Council heard today.

Twenty years of endless negotiations and conflict in the Middle East since the signing of the Oslo Accords had undermined the belief that peace was possible, but the same 20 years of peace efforts had also demonstrated that fair, reasonable and legitimate solutions could be found, a United Nations envoy for the region told the Security Council in a regular monthly briefing today.

Following four decades of despotic rule in Libya, it was evident that preconceived ideas about political transition were more likely to be a “recipe for disappointment, if not failure”, as demand for a national dialogue to address the faltering process grew across the political spectrum, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative in that country told the Security Council today.

The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Gary Quinlan (Australia):

The following Security Council press statement was issued on 13 September by Council President Gary Quinlan (Australia):

The Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Somalia, Nicholas Kay, told the Security Council this afternoon that, if asked if he was optimistic about Somalia, his answer would be a resounding “yes” — for “behind the twists and turns, the crises and the standoffs, Somalia has the foundations for progress”.

The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Gary Quinlan (Australia):

On 11 September 2013, the Security Council Committee pursuant to resolutions 1267 (1999) and 1989 (2011) approved the deletion (delisting) of the entry specified below from the Al-Qaida Sanctions List. The assets freeze, travel ban and arms embargo set out in paragraph 1 of Security Council resolution 2083 (2012) therefore no longer apply to the following entry: